Collapsible Summicron 5cm on a M9

[arnulf]

Hi guys. Sorry if this has been up before, but I was just wondering if anybody knows whether a collapsible 5cm cron can be retracted on a M9.

 

[Ronald M]

You can afford an M9 and not a decent lens?

Just don`t collapse it. No rule says you must.

 

[arnulf]

😀 thanks, Ronald. I do actually have a newer cron as well, but sometimes I like playing with the old one just for fun. Kind of like the quality of it. It works very well without collapsing it, but some times it could be practical. Takes even less space that way 😉

 

[jarski]

tried little googling "m9 lens compatibility"

guess who came to help ? its Ken !

"Lenses like the collapsible 5cm f/2 SUMMICRON from the 1950s may break the insides of your new M9 if you try to retract them too far."

 

[Sonnar Brian]

You can afford an M9 and not a decent lens?

Just don`t collapse it. No rule says you must.

The collapsible Summicron should be beautiful on the M9. The lower-contrast rendition means less clipped images.

The Summicron does not collapse that far into the camera, not as deep as the Summitar or Elmar. Will be interesting to find out.

The collapsible Nikkor 5cm f2 retracts less than the Summicron. But they are fairly uncommon in LTM.

 

[ampguy]

It is

It is

The Collapsible Summicron (cleaned rebuilt versions) make great images on the M8, and collapse fine (Don Goldberg verified this).

Not sure why the M9 is different here but I guess it's always good to be safe.

Also, with the pre-asph lux 35/1.4s, have only heard of one instance here of someone needing some shroud mod to get it to fit on their M8, so YMMV.

Ken's site (and others) make a lot more money when you click through and buy current new lens, than older out of production lens so keep that in mind.

The collapsible Summicron should be beautiful on the M9. The lower-contrast rendition means less clipped images.

The Summicron does not collapse that far into the camera, not as deep as the Summitar or Elmar. Will be interesting to find out.

The collapsible Nikkor 5cm f2 retracts less than the Summicron. But they are fairly uncommon in LTM.

 

[NathanJD]

I'd love to see some images taken with this combo being the proud owner of a cllapsible cron myself 🙂 can anyone oblige me?

 

[ampguy]

here are some with the M8

here are some with the M8

sample 50/2 coll. cron images here

I'd love to see some images taken with this combo being the proud owner of a cllapsible cron myself 🙂 can anyone oblige me?

 

[Sonnar Brian]

They look great to me!

Now- I wonder if anyone has tested the effects of Hot Glass (Thorium) Summicrons on the CCD, or other Thorium based lenses such as the Pentax 50/1.4 on DSLR's. I think I'll stick to the later Collapsible Summicron for the D-RF. Solid State devices and radiation usually do not get along. No hot glass in my Nikon lenses to test on the D1 or D1x.

 

[benmacphoto]

Brian, I have used the Thorium summicron on my M8.
Hasn't affected the sensor in any way, but then again there hasn't been prolonged use.
It collapses fine as far as I know, nothing damaged inside.

Here are a few shots from the past summer with the radio active 'cron on an m8.
It has a noticeably warmer tone, which wasn't helped by shooting into the sun like I did.

 

[arnulf]

I read some links a while ago, I hope they can help reassure you (has other lenses listed as well). The M8 is the same body size as the M9, so the effect is the same:

http://www.bogost.com/blog/safe_to_collapse.shtml

http://leica-users.com/v38/msg16998.html

http://leica-users.com/v38/msg16998.html

Thanks for these links Vic. It's funny, you know. I decided to do what the guy in the first link did and measured the depth of the collapse of the lens against the depth of the camera. He was measuring it to be used with an Elmar which retracts a lot more. The cron collapses pretty exactly 1cm and I didn't even have to use the ruler to see that there's a looooot of space for this lens inside the M8 and M9. It doesn't even get close to the bottom. Even the Elmar lens fits quite comfortably.

Very strange that they've been warning against retracting the lens.😕

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Ben- very nice pictures.

I used a UV lamp to cure some of the yellowing on my Pentax 50/1.4. I need to do this on the second Thorium Summicron that I picked up in a trade. The first one was "cured", but the heat of the sun baked the lubricants in the helical. A thorough cleaning and relube did wonders.

 

[NathanJD]

fantstic pics ampguy, thank you the old girls work wonderfully with a full frame sensor don't they 🙂?

Is it possible that the advise not to retract the lens is for dust and debris reasons as much as anything else?

 

[ampguy]

Thanks

Thanks

Thanks Nathan,

My photos were taken on an M8, not M9. I'm not sure of Leica's reason for not recommending collapsing lenses, perhaps it is when the shutter fires it fans outwards, or maybe it is just to reduce dust.

I'm going to play it safe and just keep my lens extended when on the M8.

fantstic pics ampguy, thank you the old girls work wonderfully with a full frame sensor don't they 🙂?

Is it possible that the advise not to retract the lens is for dust and debris reasons as much as anything else?

 

[jaapv]

You can afford an M9 and not a decent lens?

Just don`t collapse it. No rule says you must.

No reason not to collapse it. I think this is a pretty decent lens, btw.